Space Bugs and Bonding Moments
by TurtleGirl
Summary: Sometimes Keith needs to be cradled too. Lance is probably going to remember this one.


"Come on, Keith! Is that all you got?" Keith took one deep breath, two, and then drew his body into an attack stance. Lance held his arms out in challenge _"come at me bro"_ and Keith growled to himself. Even if he wasn't out to hurt Lance, he could at least wipe that dumb grin off his face. He charged. Lance easily dodged the blow and countered with an almost playful shove.

Keith knew he shouldn't complain. It was his own fault. After all, it _had_ been his idea to train without bayards. Getting disarmed mid-fight was a real possibility and if you were too dependent on ranged weapons, well…

"Dude, it's like you're not even trying!"

Truth be told, Keith's dinner wasn't sitting very well. It probably hadn't been a good idea to train on a full stomach but it was too late for regrets now. Besides, Lance didn't seem too encumbered. If anything, he was faster than usual.

Keith gritted his teeth and dodged as his partner moved to body check him. He was half a second too late and Lance's shoulder collided with his chest, knocking him on his rear with a thud.

"Yeah!" Lance whooped, pumping his fist in the air. "You just got schooled, Keith!"

"Lucky hit," his sparring partner muttered from the floor, chest heaving.

"Whatever, mullet. I totally just kicked your butt." Keith rolled his eyes and pushed himself arduously to his feet, completely ignoring Lance's proffered hand. His limbs felt like lead and he was really not in the mood for banter today.

The red paladin swayed slightly on reaching his feet and Lance (damn him) must have noticed. His cocky smile transformed with improbable speed into a look of genuine worry.

"Dude, are you feelin' okay? I mean, not that I couldn't kick your butt anyway, but you seem kinda off your game."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Keith demanded. Lance threw his hands up, defensively.

"Nothing, man! Geez! Just trying to show some concern."

" _I'm fine!"_ Keith snapped, but the anger had already passed. It wasn't Lance's fault he felt off. Keith closed his eyes and exhaled, trying to let the tension drain from his body.

"Sorry, Lance. I'm fine, just…tired I guess. I'm gonna quit for the night." Lance dropped his hands and would have responded but Keith had already turned on his heel, leaving the training deck without another word.

He had to get out of there, away from stupid Lance and his stupid blue eyes. He didn't need sympathy, just a little bit of rest. He was really starting to feel funny. Keith sighed. It was still too early to go to bed without raising eyebrows. Maybe he could relax on the common room sofa, if only to give the illusion of sociability.

When he entered the common room and found it empty, Keith relaxed a little bit. He liked the others. He really did. But right now he was craving some peace and quiet.

Keith shrugged off his jacket and plopped onto the nearest sofa cushion, not bothering to take his boots off as he curled up. His stomach gurgled irritably at him and he scowled.

"Knock it off," Keith muttered. He wrapped his arms protectively around his middle and in spite of himself, was asleep within minutes.

"-look sick to you?"

"He's definitely pastier than usual."

His head still reclining on the arm of the couch, Keith struggled to place the nearby voices. It wasn't until he felt a warm hand on his forehead that he finally surfaced.

"Keith? You okay?" He blinked slowly and Shiro's troubled countenance gradually swam into focus. "Can you hear me?"

"Shiro?" Keith swallowed thickly, hardly recognizing the sound of his own voice. There was an ominous, queasy rumbling deep in his belly and he just couldn't help the groan that escaped. "I don't feel so good."

Shiro's frown deepened and he knelt down to get a closer look.

"You don't look so good. What hurts?"

Keith opened his mouth to answer but instead found himself pitching forward, losing his dinner all at once. He would have spewed all over Shiro if Hunk hadn't elbowed his way in and thrust a wastebasket forward just in time.

Pidge yelped and dove off the couch, clutching her laptop. Hunk scooted in next to Keith and held his hair back as he continued to vomit. Shiro recovered quickly and moved to Keith's other side, black and yellow paladins working together to try and calm their younger teammate.

"Pidge!" Shiro called. "Find Coran and tell him to prep the med bay!" The girl took off at top speed, mostly to get help for Keith but also to get as far from the smell as possible.

Keith felt like dying. He wasn't used to losing control of his body like this and he didn't like it. His only consolation was that he wasn't alone (ironically enough). Hunk held the bin for him and smoothed his hair out of his face, murmuring words of comfort. Even better was Shiro's familiar, steady presence, a strong arm supporting his back and helping to keep him from panicking.

Coran was on the intercom within five minutes announcing that the infirmary was ready, but it took another five for Keith to hit a lull between bouts of sickness. He just barely held back the wave of nausea as Shiro scooped him up and booked it for the infirmary.

"Shiro," he ground out. "It hurts…"

"You're gonna be okay, buddy," Shiro reassured him. "We'll figure this out." He hoped that he sounded confident; his foster brother was ragdoll limp in his arms and paler than Allura's hair. Upon reaching the med deck, Shiro gently set Keith down on a bed and covered him with one of the thin blankets. Nearby, Coran and Allura hustled back and forth, gathering supplies and medical scanners.

Pidge, Hunk, and Lance hovered nearby. Lance had just stepped out of a shower when he nearly collided with Pidge sprinting down the hallway.

"Nice reflexes back there, Hunk." Pidge said to the taller of her friends. Hunk half shrugged and rubbed at the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I can kinda tell when somebody's gonna puke…cuz it's usually me." The green paladin shook her head in wonderment as she stared at Keith.

"I always thought 'turning green' was just an expression."

Lance, for once, said nothing, merely staring with a clenched jaw as his older comrades fussed over Keith. He had known something was wrong hours ago when they had sparred together. Maybe if he had said something to Shiro earlier, Keith wouldn't be in such bad shape now. Lance felt a little sick himself.

Keith shuddered, gripping Shiro's forearm as his body tried to purge itself of whatever was left. He was already up to his second wastebasket. Coran observed with a mixture of awe and disgust.

"I have never seen that much bodily fluid coming from one body in my entire life."

"When do you think we can put him in a pod?" Shiro implored, rubbing Keith's back with his flesh hand.

"I wish we could," the Altean sighed. "But the healing pods were only designed to repair physical damage. All we can do is diagnose Keith's illness and try to keep him comfortable." Keith hiccupped and retched loudly into the bucket. Everyone winced. "With 'try' being the operative word."

Poor Keith was put through the Works. His vitals were scanned and analyzed, his temperature taken, his tummy prodded and poked as Shiro tried to rule out appendicitis. (That sparked a long, awkward explanation about humans and their unnecessary extra organs.) Ultimately, it was discovered that Keith was not dying of some space plague, just a lovely garden-variety stomach flu.

Mercifully, after the first few tests, Coran managed to come up with a good anti-emetic. Keith continued to feel nauseous, but was no longer doubled up vomiting. That left dehydration as the biggest concern. Keith wasn't able to stomach liquid water at the moment and the Alteans were completely horror-struck by the concept of IV fluids. Hunk was the first to suggest ice chips.

Shiro refused to leave Keith's side as evening became late night in the Castle's simulated environment. He was tireless in his efforts to keep his little "brother" hydrated and comfy and he politely rebuffed any suggestion that he retire or at least let someone else watch over Keith for a while.

"He's out of danger, Shiro," Allura consoled, placing a hand on the black paladin's shoulder. "All Keith needs now is plenty of rest. And I could say the same for you." Shiro's mouth pressed into a tight line, frowning at the still form lying in bed.

"I don't like leaving him alone. Keith doesn't get sick like this."

"He won't be alone," the princess replied firmly. "This is a team, if you recall, and we all care for Keith." Chastened, Shiro's shoulders slumped and he suddenly looked every bit as tired as he was. Allura's expression softened. "Please, Shiro. Trust us."

They compromised. Shiro agreed to go to bed and the others agreed to take turns, checking up on Keith every couple hours or so. Lance was the first to volunteer.

It was the middle of the night by the time his turn came around. Lance slipped out of bed, not having slept a wink and quickly made his way to the med bay.

He found Keith curled up on his side, apparently sleeping but still holding his tummy. The blue paladin stepped closer to the bedside with a frown. He didn't want to bother Keith but he was troubled by just how uncomfortable he looked. Lance reached for the blanket that the sick teen had half kicked to the floor, and when he turned back he saw Keith watching him.

"Lance?"

"Oh hey, you're awake."

"Wha's happning?" Keith slurred, his indigo eyes half-lidded and glassy.

"Nothing man. Just wanted to see how you were doing." Lance paused awkwardly, fiddling with the blanket. "Still feeling pretty lousy, huh?"

"Stomach hurts," was the mumbled reply. Lance reached out to feel Keith's forehead, long fingers brushing gently through dark bangs. Keith closed his eyes in what could almost be described as contentment. He wasn't running a fever (thank god for small favors) but man, did he look like hell.

"You uh…want some more ice? Shiro said you can't really handle liquid yet." Keith nodded tiredly.

And that is how Lance McClain found himself at the bedside of his former rival, keeping him company and spoon feeding him ice chips. Talk about a bonding moment. Lance would gather one or two pieces onto the spoon and Keith, eyes mostly closed, would unhurriedly suck on them, savoring the much needed liquid. Sometimes Lance would even take a larger piece with his fingers, running it soothingly over his teammate's chapped lips before letting him take it.

And so they carried on until it was obvious that Keith was getting sleepy. Lance set the half empty cup aside and got up to gently tuck the blankets around him. He thought Keith had fallen asleep until he turned to leave and heard a ragged voice call his name. Keith was looking up at him with wide, shadow-ringed eyes.

"You don't have to leave…I mean unless you want to." There was a long pause as Lance processed the words. A slight flush of color highlighted the red paladin's cheeks and he abruptly broke eye contact. That snapped Lance out of it.

"Keith…do you want me to stay?" Those eyes flicked back up to his face, and Keith gave the barest of nods.

"Please?" That was all it took. Lance melted.

"Here, move over." Keith raised an eyebrow. "What? You look cold. I don't want you getting worse." Keith considered this.

"I _am_ kind of cold."

"Well, there ya go. Nothing weird about it." Keith slowly shifted to the far side of the bed to make room and Lance slipped his shoes off. Confident words aside, Lance still proceeded with caution, carefully slipping under the blanket and lying down.

"This okay?" he asked softly, watching Keith's face for any sign of discomfort.

"Yeah," Keith breathed. They were face to face now, still lying about a foot apart, gauging each other. Then, all at once, something clicked. Keith moved closer to Lance and the taller boy reached for him, gentle hands brushing over his slim waist and coming to rest on his lower back. Keith gazed shyly up at him before tucking his head under Lance's chin.

"Better?" Lance asked him, rubbing little circles under the hem of his shirt. Keith nodded, honestly shocked by how much better he felt. He was warm and safe and Lance was holding him close, enveloping him in the scent of clean cotton and whatever it was that he used on his hair.

"Sorry I went off on you earlier," he mumbled into Lance's chest. "You were trying to be nice."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I knew you weren't feeling good."

"Thanks Lance." Lance hugged him a little tighter. He honestly couldn't believe this was real. Keith Kogane willfully snuggling with him? Was it just because he was so sick? Would he remember this later? He decided he should stop over thinking and just enjoy it.

"I've got you, buddy. Just get some sleep."

Of all the things Takashi Shirogane expected to see when he went to check on Keith, this was certainly not one of them. On turning the corner he found two "bitter rivals" cuddling on a hospital bed, an endearing tangle of long limbs and crumpled blankets. Shiro's expression softened as his eyes fell on Keith's sleeping face. If not for the lingering pallor of his skin, you almost couldn't tell he was ill. Both these guys looked to be enjoying the best sleep of their lives.

Feeling a new surge of affection for Lance, Shiro smiled and carefully detangled one of the blankets, laying it over the boys as quietly as he could. Behind him, the head of Voltron heard a stifled gasp and he turned his head sharply.

Allura had quickly covered her mouth but Shiro could tell she was grinning. He returned the smile and brought a finger to his lips as he joined her in the doorway.

"That is quite possibly the most adorable thing I've ever seen," the princess whispered. Shiro agreed.

"It's definitely an improvement over the bickering. I kind of wish I had a camera."

"Oh, not to worry," Allura replied, her blue eyes sparking with mischief. "I'll simply ask Pidge to retrieve the footage from our security scanners. Not the same as a camera, perhaps, but it does capture bonding moments quite effectively." Shiro actually found himself chuckling.

"Great. It'll be the perfect start to that scrapbook Hunk's been wanting to put together."


End file.
